Selection Competition

Han Clan Manor.

In a spacious room, a male youth with closed eyes was sitting in a meditative position. His name is Han Jun and he is the only son of the Han clan Patriarch.

Han Jun's eyebrows furrowed as he guided his spiritual qi through his Qi Channels. Spiritual Qi swirled around him as they made their way towards a certain Qi Channel. After fifteen minutes, the Qi Channel started to give off a small glow.

*Pop*

Han Jun suddenly opened his eyes as a grin slowly appeared on his face.

"Hehe, I've opened my eighth Qi Channel."

Han Jun has reached the eighth layer of the Channel Opening Stage.

In the Four Beasts Heaven, the Channel Opening Stage is the starting point of cultivation. It consists of nine layers, with each layer increasing the strength of one's body. After reaching the ninth layer, the practitioner may start working towards the Qi Gathering Stage.

Han Jun stood up in satisfaction and left the room. It was currently early in the morning and Han Jun just remembered that he had to go to the main courtyard.

On his arrival, Han Jun was greeted with the sight of two beautiful women chatting. One of the ladies wore a green garment. She had fair skin and slight wrinkles on her face. However, the wrinkles couldn't conceal the fact that she used to be a beauty in her youth. The other girl wore a light blue dress. She had a slightly immature face and her slim body gave off a youthful charm.

The older woman is Han Jun's mother, Qin Yu, while the young girl is Han Jun's friend, Bai Ling.

"I will leave first. Have fun."

Noticing Han Jun's arrival, Qin Yu quickly found an excuse to leave while giving him a subtle wink.

However, Bai Ling noticed the wink and she quickly gave Qin Yu a bashful glare.

Han Jun gave an awkward chuckle as he walked towards Bai Ling.

"Sorry for the wait. Did you wait long?"

"If you took any longer, I would've left already. Hurry, let's go!"

Bai Ling rolled her eyes as she dragged Han Jun outside the manor.

White Cloud City – Marketplace.

"Selling Tier 1 herbs for 10 spirit stones each!"

"Come test your luck for 50 spirit stones. If you're lucky, you may find a rare treasure in these rocks!"

"Come and get your beast cores!"

The streets were flooded with street vendors hawking their goods. It was still the morning after all, and it was the prime time for vendors to find customers.

"Haha. Rowdy as usual."

Han Jun had a wry smile on his face as he walked with Bai Ling.

Bai Ling pouted slightly.

"It can't be helped. Not my fault that your manor is on the other side of the marketplace."

"You can't blame me either. Blame father"

Bai Ling and Han Jun chatted for a few minutes until they encountered a familiar figure. The person was slightly taller than Han Jun and had a well-built body. It was Zhan Kun of the Zhan clan.

Zhan Kun was surprised to see the duo at the marketplace as an odd smile slowly crept on his face.

"What a surprise to see you two lovebirds together this early."

The instant these words left Zhan Kun's mouth; Bai Ling sent a swift kick towards Zhan Kun's behind. However, Zhan Kun predicted this kick as he slightly moved his body out of the way.

*woosh*

Bai Ling's kick hit nothing but thin air.

"Sorry Bai Ling. It was just a joke"

Zhan Kun scratched his head as he dodged a second kick coming his way. Han Jun quickly put his hand on Bai Ling's shoulder to stop her from unleashing a third kick as he looked at Zhan Kun.

"Good morning Zhan Kun."

Zhan Kun also returned a greeting as he said "I wonder where that rascal Teng Zemin is. The four stars of White Cloud should make a grand entrance at the sparring grounds together."

"I'm right here you muscle head"

Zhan Kun turned around and saw a handsome young man giving him a cold look. That young man is Teng Zemin. Teng Zemin gave Han Jun and Bai Ling a small nod as he proceeded to walk towards to sparring grounds.

Zhan Kun let out a small chuckle, "Putting on airs like always."

Han Jun and Bai Ling exchanged looks and let out a small smile. Han Jun, Bai Ling, and Zhan Kun then proceeded to follow behind Teng Zemin.

White Cloud City – Sparring Grounds.

The sparring grounds consisted of four platforms, which each of them being 30 metres in length and width.

Near the platforms sat an elder with long white beard. Seated near him were multiple middle-aged men. Judging by the size of the chairs, it was clear that the elder had a very high status.

Standing nearby was a crowd of a hundred youths ranging between fourteen and seventeen years in age. After a few minutes, the eyes of all the youths were fixed in a certain direction as they noticed the arrival of Han Jun, Bai Ling, Zhan Kun, and Teng Zemin.

"Teng Zemin looks handsome as always"

"I prefer Zhan Kun's robust body"

"Forget those two. I've always admired Han Jun"

"Bai Ling! I love you!"

Many youths got excited as Han Jun's crew made their way towards the sparring grounds. After all, they were the four stars of White Cloud: the four most talented individuals in the younger generation of White Cloud City.

Noticing the commotion, the elder slowly opened his eyes.

"Now that they have arrived, we can start the selection."

The elder stood up and swept his eyes across the youths, pausing slightly at the four stars of White Cloud.

"I am Gu Yijun, an elder of the White Tiger Institute."

"As you know, the White Tiger Institute is often hailed as the top institute in our Western Tiger Continent. Therefore, we will only select the best of the best as our students."

Immediately, the youths at the sparring grounds started to chatter excitedly.

"If I can study at that institute, my family will be very proud of me"

"Forget that, if I can study there, I can definitely be popular with women."

"Maybe Bai Ling will finally look my way."

In response to the excited chatter, Gu Yinjun let out a cold snort.

"Silence."

The chatter slowly died down.

Gu Yinjun looked at the four stars of White Cloud and smiled.

"You four may start first."

*Tap*

*Tap*

*Tap*

*Thump*

Han Jun, Bai Ling, Zhan Kun, and Teng Zemin split up as they each jumped on a platform.

"The selection test is simple."

"You will each fight a puppet that will grow in strength every minute. The longer you last, the more benefits will be given to you when you join the institute. The minimum requirement to pass is 5 minutes."

"Begin."

As the last word left Gu Yijun's mouth, a puppet jumped on each of the four stages and attacked their respective opponents.

After dodging a punch, Han Jun let out a careless smile.

"Only the fourth layer of Channel Opening. This will be a breeze."

5 minutes later.

Han Jun, Bai Ling, Zhan Kun, and Teng Zemin were sweating as they struggled to keep up with the onslaught of attacks. After 5 minutes, the strength of the puppets has risen to the ninth layer of channel opening.

At the 6th minute mark, Bai Ling, Zhan Kun, and Teng Zemin were forced off the platforms as the puppets have gotten too strong. At this point, only Han Jun was left fighting.

Teng Zemin looked at Han Jun's platform and let out cold snort.

"Eighth layer of Channel Opening. Looks like Han Jun has pulled ahead."

Apart from Han Jun, the four stars of White Cloud were at the seventh layer of Channel Opening.

Gu Yijun glanced at the three that were forced off the stage.

"Considering that they're only turning fifteen this year, they will be promising students."

He then turned his attention back to Han Jun's battle.

*Tap*

Han Jun hurriedly sidestepped as the puppet threw a punch toward his chest. Han Jun parried with his left arm, proceeding with a right hook towards the puppets head. The puppet remained unfazed and it quickly unleashed a kick, knocking Han Jun back a few metres.

The puppet is currently stronger than a practitioner at the ninth layer of Channel Opening while Han Jun only reached the eighth layer this morning. Han Jun was starting to approach his limit.

Not caring about Han Jun's fatigue, the puppet rushed over, preparing to unleash a flurry of punches. Gritting his teeth, Han Jun stood up and got ready to receive the punches. After a few hits, a punch landed square onto Han Jun's face.

"Damnit."

Already reaching his limit, Han Jun was sent summersaulting out of the platform.

Before Han Jun could hit the ground, one of the middle-aged men near Gu Yinjun flickered behind Han Jun and caught him.

"You lasted 7 minutes. Good job."

The middle-aged man had a square jaw and piercing eyes. He is Han Zhen, Han Jun's father. Han Zhen gave Han Jun a warm smile before putting him down and flickering back to Gu Yijun's side.

Gu Yijun then beckoned four random students to get on the platforms.

About 2 hours later.

Gu Yijun stood up with a neutral expression at looked at 10 youths.

"Congratulations on passing the selection competition. Those of you that lasted 6 minutes, you will receive an additional 100 contribution points upon arriving at the institute. Han Jun, you receive 250 contribution points instead. You will figure out the uses of these contribution points when you arrive at the institute."

"Now go prepare. We leave tomorrow."

With that, Gu Yijun flicked his sleeves and left.

Teng Zemin gave Han Jun a stare and walked away as a few words trailed behind him.

"You may have taken the lead this time, but I'll surpass you soon."

Zhan Kun also took this opportunity to bid Han Jun and Bai Ling farewell and left.

Bai Ling chatted with Han Jun for awhile before she also went home.

Sitting on one of the platforms, Han Jun looked towards the east.

"Just the selection competition was already this difficult."

"I wonder how strong the geniuses of White Tiger Institute are."

With that, Han Jun hopped off the platform and headed home.